RRC messages and procedures

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for radio resource control (RRC) messaging. A method in a Node B includes transmitting a RRC change command including a plurality of commands to a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), and receiving an RRC change response from the WTRU, wherein the RRC change command includes a command for performing a measurement gap configuration procedure and a command for performing a measurement gap activation procedure.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/133,514, filed Jun. 5, 2008, which issues as U.S. Pat. No. 8,374,609 on Feb. 12, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/942,069, filed Jun. 5, 2007, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention is related to wireless communication systems.

BACKGROUND

The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has recently initiated the Long Term Evolution (LTE) program to bring new technology, new network architecture and configurations and new applications and services to the wireless cellular network in order to provide improved spectral efficiency, reduced latency, faster user experiences and richer applications and services with less cost. LTE aims at realizing an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN).

There have been attempts to identify radio resource control (RRC) messages for LTE, as well as the high level structure of the procedural specification. In order to achieve a concise specification, some of those messages have been grouped together to provide similar functionality. Table 1 shows an example of grouping of these messages.

TABLE 1 Message Groupings No Message Details Comment/UMTS equivalents 1 System Information Block Downlink(DL), SYSTEM INFORMATION BLOCK 1..N 1 . . . n Broadcast Channel (BCH) 2 Paging DL, Paging PAGING TYPE ½ Channel (PCH) 3 Radio connection request Uplink (UL) RRC CONNECTION REQUEST Synch Channel A specific message seems needed for some scenarios (SCH) considering the size constrains for the initial uplink message 4 Measurement report UL-SCH MEASUREMENT REPORT Introduction of a more general purpose ‘Radio connection change request’ may still be considered 5 Radio connection change DL-SCH RADIO BEARER SETUP command RADIO BEARER RELEASE RRC CONNECTION SETUP RRC CONNECTION RELEASE XXXX RECONFIGURATION Possibly also covering: CELL UPDATE CONFIRM HANDOVER FROM UTRAN COMMAND MEASUREMENT CONTROL SECURITY MODE COMMAND UTRAN MOBILITY INFORMATION 6 Radio connection change UL-SCH RADIO BEARER SETUP COMPLETE complete RADIO BEARER RELEASE COMPLETE RRC CONNECTION COMPLETE RRC CONNECTION COMPLETE XXXX RECONFIGURATION COMPLETE Possibly also covering: HANDOVER FROM UTRAN COMPLETE HANDOVER TO UTRAN COMPLETE SECURITY MODE COMPLETE UTRAN MOBILITY INFORMATION CONFIRM 7 Handover to LTE DL, other radio Specific message may be needed because of the access considering the size limitations in GSM technology HANDOVER TO UTRAN COMMAND (RAT) 8 WTRU capability UL, other RAT Specific message may be needed because of the information compact considering the size limitations in GSM INTER RAT HANDOVER INFO 9 DL direct transfer DL-SCH Specific message with no AS integrity (if required) DOWNLINK DIRECT TRANSFER 10 UL direct transfer UL-SCH Specific message with no AS integrity (if required) UPLINK DIRECT TRANSFER

As shown above, the RRC connection change command groups together a number of commands, (e.g., Setup and Reconfiguration, security mode commands and measurement commands). There are currently no groupings for failure messages. The only failure message is the use of an RRC Connection Change Failure command to indicate Message Failure. Grouping of such messages would require additional factors to be considered, especially in the case of the radio connection change command and the radio connection change complete.

Even though a separate RRC “Connection Change Failure” message has been disclosed, groups of messages, such as security and setup or measurement control and handover, raise a number of issues. One issue is whether the complete procedure fails if one part of the message fails. For example, the radio bearer setup part might fail while the security part passes, or the handover part might pass while the measurement control part might fail. Another issue is the determination of which combination of scenarios the procedure be declared a success. Therefore, there exists a need for a method and apparatus for handling grouped command messages.

SUMMARY

A method and apparatus for radio resource control (RRC) messaging. A method in a Node B includes transmitting a RRC change command including a plurality of commands to a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), and receiving an RRC change response from the WTRU, wherein the RRC change command includes a command for performing a measurement gap configuration procedure and a command for performing a measurement gap activation procedure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an example wireless communication system configured to implement the disclosed method; and

FIG. 2 is an example signal diagram of the disclosed method for handling Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

When referred to hereafter, the terminology “wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU)” includes but is not limited to a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a computer, or any other type of user device capable of operating in a wireless environment. When referred to hereafter, the terminology “base station” includes but is not limited to a Node-B, a site controller, an access point (AP), or any other type of interfacing device capable of operating in a wireless environment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a LTE wireless communication network (NW) 10 comprises a WTRU 20, one or more Node Bs 30, and one or more cells 40. Each cell 40 comprises one or more Node Bs (NB or eNB) 30 including a processor 31. WTRU 20 comprises a processor 21. Processors 21 and 31 are configured to implement the disclosed method for handling grouped radio resource control (RRC) messages.

A method and apparatus are disclosed for handling partial failures or partial completes of grouped RRC message procedures, wherein such a failure by one of a plurality of procedures within the RRC message can be relayed to the NB without having to indicate a failure for all of the RRC procedures, including those that were successful.

In accordance with this method, when a WTRU 20 receives an RRC message, (e.g., a Radio Connection Change Command), processor 21 is forwarded the message for processing. For purposes of this disclosure, a Radio Connection Change Command may include a plurality of RRC commands. For example, a RADIO SETUP, RRC CONNECTION SET UP, RRC CONNECTION RELEASE may be included in the grouping of the RRC messages for the Radio Connection Change Command.

FIG. 2 is an example of a signal diagram for handling an RRC Radio Connection Change in accordance with the disclosed method. NB 30 sends an RRC Connection Change Command message 200, including a group of RRC commands, to WTRU 20. Upon receipt of message 200, processor 21 of WTRU 20 initiates the RRC reconfiguration and other procedures associated with each of the grouped RRC commands.

Processor 21 of WTRU 20 then monitors the status of each of the procedures that are being performed in response to message 200 to determine whether the respective procedure was successfully completed. Once a determination has been made by processor 21 regarding each procedure 203, processor 21 utilizes this information to generate an indication of whether message 200 was successfully completed in its entirety, partially completed, or failed to complete 204. In accordance with the disclosed method and apparatus, this information is included in an information element (IE) that may be included in a response message 201, (e.g., an RRC Connection Change Complete or an RRC Connection Change Failure).

The information relayed in the additional IE depends on the network configuration. For example, the presence of the IE may indicate to NB 30 that the RRC Message failed, partially or completely; that there was only a partial failure of the RRC Message; that the RRC Message completed, partially or completely. Alternatively, the IE may also indicate which procedure within the RRC Message failed, as well as the reason for the failure.

The IE, called “Failed Configuration” or any other name, may hold enumerated values, such as, “setup”, “security”, “measurement configuration”, and the like. The failed configuration IE may also include a sub-IE called “failure cause”, which may include any other information that is considered necessary and that may indicate the reasons for the failure. For example, if there is a partial failure of the procedure, the RRC “Connection Change Complete” message 201 including the IE may be sent to NB 30 and processed by NB processor 31, indicating which part of the configuration did not complete successfully.

Alternatively, in the case of a partial success, WTRU 20 may send an RRC “Connection Change Failure” message 201 including an IE called “Configuration Completed”, for example, or another name that is suitable. This Configuration Completed IE may hold similar enumerated values such as, “setup”, “security”, or “measurement configuration,” which indicates whether part of the configuration completed successfully. Within the IE “Configuration Completed” there may be sub-IEs, which may include the information from current “setup complete” or “security mode complete” commands, the uplink ciphering activation time info or the start values, for example.

In another alternative, when there is a partial success in the configuration, the RRC “Connection Change Complete” message 201, as well as details of the configuration that succeeded may be sent with an IE designated as “Partial Reconfiguration” or any other name that is considered suitable. In accordance with this alternative, the “Partial Reconfiguration” IE may have a “true” or “false” value, which indicates whether another message is set to follow. If the IE is set to true, the RRC “Connection Change Complete” message 201 may be followed by the RRC “Connection Change Failure” message which may include details of the failed configuration.

Alternatively, the reverse may be done for a partial reconfiguration. The RRC “Connection Change Failure” message 201 may be sent first with details of the failed configuration, along with an IE designated as “Partial Reconfiguration”, or any other name that is considered suitable, which may be followed by a RRC “Connection Change Complete” message with details of the configuration that completed successfully.

Alternatively, if a configuration is partially successful, a RRC “Connection Change Failure” message may be sent and no information may be configured. Such an action, however, may not be beneficial as the combining of messages leads to a higher chance of failure since all parts of the configuration would be expected to pass.

In accordance with the disclosed method, an example partial configuration may include a situation where the RRC “Connection Change Command” 200 carries both security mode information and radio bearer setup information. Where there is some failure, such as a physical channel failure, the radio bearer setup cannot be completed successfully, but the security procedure is able to complete successfully. In this case, there is a partial configuration because, the security procedure would pass but the radio bearer setup information would fail.

Another example may be if a handover is being performed and the RRC “Connection Change” command 200 includes both handover information and measurement control information. A failure may occur, for example, an invalid configuration, wherein the measurement parameters may not be successfully configured, but the handover may still be successful.

In another example, the handover may not be successfully completed, but the measurement parameters are successfully configured. Successful measurement control configuration, though, may not need a confirmation message. As such, an RRC “Connection Change Failure” message is sent to NB 30, including, an IE designated as “Configuration Completed” with a value “measurement” such that the network does not need to send the measurement control information again.

In accordance with the disclosed method, some instances of partial reconfiguration may not be allowed. For example, where an RRC “Connection Change Command” message including both security mode information and radio bearer setup information encounters a failure, such as an invalid configuration, the security mode command parameters may not be configured. As a result of the detection by processor 21 of the security mode failure, an RRC “Connection Change Failure” command is sent to NB 30, thereby preceding configuration of the radio bearers. This prevents a situation where the data is ready to be sent, but no security is enabled.

By way of another example, the “security capability” information sent as part of the security information may not match a WTRU's capability information. If this should occur, WTRU 20 sends a failure for the entire message and does not configure anything. There may be other scenarios where it might be better to send a failure message and not configure anything.

Alternatively, the network may signal the measurement control or the security mode information in the handover, setup or reconfiguration messages with an IE indicating that the configuration of the measurement or any other such information is optional. WTRU 20 may then configure the information or not configure the information based on its own constraints, such as receiving an invalid configuration or wanting to do a faster handover, for example. WTRU 20 could signal an RRC “Connection Change Complete” message with an optional IE, such as “Configuration Not Completed Value”, or any other suitable name, wherein the value may be a measurement, a setup, or any value indicating the part of the configuration that was not complete. This may indicate to the network that the network should signal the incomplete configuration to WTRU 20 again. Also, if there are any parameters in the optional configuration information, such as measurement control, which the WTRU 20 may not have understood and therefore may not complete the configuration, WTRU 20 may also indicate that as part of the RRC Connection Change command.

If a complete success of the configuration is detected by processor 21, an RRC “Connection Change Complete” message 201 sent without the IE included. An indication that none of the commands in the RRC “Connection Change Command” message could be configured, may be sent in a RRC “Connection Change Failure” message without the IE “Configuration Completed”.

In an alternative disclosed method, the measurement control and security control information are included in a IE included in a setup or reconfiguration message, for example.

Since the security and the measurement control information are allowed to be transmitted separately as a different RRC “Connection Change” command, rather than coupling the information with the setup, reconfiguration, handover or any other command, an “Information included” IE is included within the RRC “Connection Change” command. This IE indicates to WTRU 20 whether the measurement control and security information is embedded in the message. The “Information Included” IE may be an enumerated field and hold values for security information, measurement control information, and the like. The inclusion of such an IE in the RRC “Connection Change” command may assist WTRU 20 with preparing to receive additional messages.

In another alternative, when information for different purposes is combined, such as security and setup information, each of them may carry separate activation times. In accordance with this alternative, WTRU 20 stores the two separate activation times. In some cases, the activation times may be combined and WTRU 20 would enable the entire configuration at one specified activation time. Alternatively, when combining measurement control with setup/handover/reconfiguration information, the measurement identifier may preferably be carried so that further modification to the measurement information may be made by using the proper identifier.

If messages are being combined, common information elements, such as integrity check information, for example, may be combined.

In earlier Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS) releases, the IE “DPCH Compressed Mode Info” was part of many reconfiguration/setup messages. “DPCH Compressed Mode Status” IE was part of the measurement control information. This IE allows the measurement control message to activate the compressed mode, but not configure it. In this case, before WTRU 20 receives the measurement control command with the gap activation command, WTRU 20 may need to receive the compressed mode gap parameters through the reconfiguration message. Although there are measurement gaps in place of compressed mode in LTE, the restriction of some messages being only able to activate the gap but not be able to configure it is removed. All the measurement gap parameters may be combined into one common set, such as “Measurement Gap Info.” RRC messages could then use this set to configure and activate the measurement gap. In this case, the same RRC message may simultaneously configure and activate the gap for WTRU 20, thereby simplifying the configuration procedure.

Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, each feature or element can be used alone without the other features and elements or in various combinations with or without other features and elements. The methods or flow charts provided herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable storage medium for execution by a general purpose computer or a processor. Examples of computer-readable storage mediums include a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs).

Suitable processors include, by way of example, a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), and/or a state machine.

A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), user equipment (UE), terminal, base station, radio network controller (RNC), or any host computer. The WTRU may be used in conjunction with modules, implemented in hardware and/or software, such as a camera, a video camera module, a videophone, a speakerphone, a vibration device, a speaker, a microphone, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a keyboard, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, and/or any wireless local area network (WLAN) or Ultra Wide Band (UWB) module. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) change command performed by a Node B, the method comprising: transmitting an RRC change command including a plurality of commands to a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU); and receiving an RRC change response from the WTRU; wherein the RRC change command includes a command for performing a measurement gap configuration procedure and a command for performing a measurement gap activation procedure.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the RRC change command is a measurement control message.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the RRC change command includes a plurality of measurement gap parameters.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the measurement gap parameters are combined into a common set.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the RRC change response includes an information element (IE) for each command, each IE indicates whether the procedure was successfully completed in its entirety, the procedure was partially completed, or the procedure failed to complete.
 6. A Node B comprising: a transmitter configured to transmit a radio resource control (RRC) change command including a plurality of commands to a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU); and a receiver configured to receive RRC change response from the WTRU; wherein the RRC change command includes a command for performing a measurement gap configuration procedure and a command for performing a measurement gap activation procedure.
 7. The Node B of claim 6, wherein the RRC change command is a measurement control message.
 8. The Node B of claim 6, wherein the RRC change command includes a plurality of measurement gap parameters.
 9. The Node B of claim 8, wherein the measurement gap parameters are combined into a common set.
 10. The Node B of claim 6, wherein the RRC change response includes an information element (IE) for each command, each IE indicates whether the procedure was successfully completed in its entirety, the procedure was partially completed, or the procedure failed to complete.
 11. An integrated circuit (IC) comprising: circuitry configured to receive an RRC change command including a plurality of commands; circuitry configured to perform a measurement gap configuration procedure based on a particular one of the commands; and circuitry configured to perform a measurement gap activation procedure based on another one of the commands.
 12. The IC of claim 11, wherein the RRC change command is a measurement control message.
 13. The IC of claim 11, wherein the RRC change command includes a plurality of measurement gap parameters.
 14. The IC of claim 13, wherein the measurement gap parameters are combined into a common set.
 15. The IC of claim 11, further comprising: circuitry configured to transmit an information element, IE, for each procedure, each IE indicating whether the procedure was successfully completed in its entirety, the procedure was partially completed, or the procedure failed to complete. 